‘X-Men’: Jessica Chastain Was Unaware Of Her Character’s Name Until She Saw ‘Dark Phoenix’

What's in a name?

Jessica Chastain X-Men Dark Phoenix

X-Men star Jessica Chastain didn’t know her Dark Phoenix villain’s name until she saw the film.

Dark Phoenix ended up becoming an unceremonious end to Fox’s long-lasting X-Men franchise. The film was a critical and commercial failure, heavily criticized for its pacing, mediocre action sequences, and revisitation of the practically unfilmable Dark Phoenix saga. The film was in production while Disney was purchasing Fox, so the final X-Men film didn’t necessarily get the love it needed from the studio.

One of the film’s major draws was Jessica Chastain, who was brought in to play the alien Vuk, a member of the D’Bari. It turns out that Chastain had no idea what her X-Men villain’s name was until she actually saw the film.

Chastain opened up about her struggles with Dark Phoenix in a chat with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast.

“My situation — I think the studio was bought at a certain point, I didn’t even know what my character’s name was until I saw the film…”

Jessica Chastain then continued by discussing how she has no ill will towards Simon Kinberg, who directed the X-Men film. Kinberg and Chastain would later work together on The 355, which hits cinemas next January.

“It was an interesting thing. Simon Kinberg, who directed it, is an incredible human being, and I’ve worked with him again. I love him.”

Here is the official synopsis for Jessica Chastain’s Dark Phoenix:

This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey, as she evolves into the iconic DARK PHOENIX. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet. The film is the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we’ve come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet — one of their own.

Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain.

Dark Phoenix is now available on Digital HD, 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Jessica Chastain and the future of the X-Men!

Source: Happy Sad Confused